How to remove a foreclosure from your credit report

A foreclosure is one of the heaviest marks a report can carry, and it usually comes attached to a run of late payments that also have to be checked.

Quick takeaways

Servicer transfers are a common source of foreclosure errors.
Deed in lieu, short sale and foreclosure report differently.
Seven years from first delinquency, then it drops off.

Verify every detail

Confirm the property, the dates, the deficiency balance, and whether the outcome was actually a foreclosure, a deed in lieu, or a short sale — those are different entries and they are often mixed up after a loan is transferred between servicers.

Dispute with documentation

Closing documents, the deed, servicer correspondence and payoff letters carry weight. Dispute with the bureaus and the servicer at the same time.

Rebuilding after one

A foreclosure stays seven years from the first missed payment. Mortgage programs have their own waiting periods that run from the completion date, so the file needs clean, active, on-time accounts in the meantime.

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